Cells (Jul 2021)

Lock, Stock and Barrel: Role of Renin-Angiotensin-Aldosterone System in Coronavirus Disease 2019

  • Christian Zanza,
  • Michele Fidel Tassi,
  • Tatsiana Romenskaya,
  • Fabio Piccolella,
  • Ludovico Abenavoli,
  • Francesco Franceschi,
  • Andrea Piccioni,
  • Veronica Ojetti,
  • Angela Saviano,
  • Barbara Canonico,
  • Mariele Montanari,
  • Loris Zamai,
  • Marco Artico,
  • Chiara Robba,
  • Fabrizio Racca,
  • Yaroslava Longhitano

DOI
https://doi.org/10.3390/cells10071752
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 10, no. 7
p. 1752

Abstract

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Since the end of 2019, the medical-scientific community has been facing a terrible pandemic caused by a new airborne viral agent known as SARS-CoV2. Already in the early stages of the pandemic, following the discovery that the virus uses the ACE2 cell receptor as a molecular target to infect the cells of our body, it was hypothesized that the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system was involved in the pathogenesis of the disease. Since then, numerous studies have been published on the subject, but the exact role of the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system in the pathogenesis of COVID-19 is still a matter of debate. RAAS represents an important protagonist in the pathogenesis of COVID-19, providing the virus with the receptor of entry into host cells and determining its organotropism. Furthermore, following infection, the virus is able to cause an increase in plasma ACE2 activity, compromising the normal function of the RAAS. This dysfunction could contribute to the establishment of the thrombo-inflammatory state characteristic of severe forms of COVID-19. Drugs targeting RAAS represent promising therapeutic options for COVID-19 sufferers.

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